so I finished [some of] my college essays (all the ones about windsurfing are done), so I'd like to share them with you. I thought you might appreciate them:

#1

My philosophy: windsurf whenever you can.

This idea has brought me back time and time again from the brink of quitting. I remember being 14 and having recently gotten my first set of equipment and I felt so exhilarated. I rigged it, got into the water, started windsurfing, and then the wind picked up - a lot. I got stuck in the middle of the lake, unable to do anything but let the waves and current push me ashore downwind. Then, downtrodden, schlepping my equipment in a "walk of shame" upwind, I almost broke down and cried.

At that faithful moment when I could have let go of this amazing sport, I remembered the other windsurfers on the water with me, who had all zipped past me, tearing the water under their boards in half. At that moment, I had an epiphany. I asked myself: "If they can do it, why can't I?" In all my years as a windsurfer, that was truly the most definitive moment. It told me and I told myself that I was not a quitter, that I could and would persevere, that I was determined to become a true windsurfer.

I decided that I needed a sport during the off-season that would exercise my abdomens, so I took up hula hooping. I thought about buying the hoops, but in the end, I decided to make them myself. So I went to the nearest store with the tubing, spent hours making the hoops, which I later sold at a profit. This taught me that I had a tremendous motivation to stay in-shape and ready to windsurf at the start of the season. This made me quite proud, as it was proof that I could succeed when determined. This occurred when my grades were slipping, making me realize that a lack of motivation rather than a lack of intelligence, was the reason for my falling grades. So, I picked myself and my grades up and became proud of my windsurfing talent because I became more motivated thanks to it.

This love of windsurfing made me want to teach others about this amazing sport. In the summer of my junior year, I decided it was time to get work experience; I was 16 after all. I also decided to get a job that I enjoy. Therefore, I was extremely enthusiastic when I got not one, but two windsurfing-related jobs. At one, I was the rental-person for customers, and at the other I was a windsurfing instructor. Working hard and teaching those children was a difficult task, and I would often come home exhausted, unable to do much more than sit around. This was impossible, however, because during that same summer, I took an Emergency Response course.

These jobs caused me to take the course. I had expected a one week CPR course that would help me earn more at my jobs, but soon realized this not the case. It was actually an intensive 6 week prerequisite course to becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Understanding this, I knew I would not enjoy the course. Yet I persisted using the same philosophy that I use for windsurfing. Thanks to it, I stuck with the course and enjoyed it more and more. By the end, I decided to later take the EMT course.

The reason windsurfing makes me proud is that it has been so extremely influential to me for the past six years; it has shaped me into the person I now am, given me new interests, job experience, self-confidence, self-motivation, and helped me become more persistent and open to new ideas.

#2

In front of my mother is a grass field with scattered pieces of equipment belonging to the local windsurfers gliding on the lake. Many of them are going fast, tearing through the water; from where she is standing, fifty feet from the shore, she can hear the water slapping against the shore. She surveys the lake and the surroundings. Everyone seems to be having a good time - except for one scrawny boy in the middle of the lake. That boy is her son.

I was twelve or thirteen at the time. I wanted to show off my windsurfing skills to my parents. One day after having practiced for months, I asked my mother to come see me. She watched as I wrestled to set up my equipment for a good hour. Finally, I got it in the water and started to windsurf. Since I was a beginner, I was using a small sail and not going very fast, especially compared to all the other windsurfers. In fact, everyone else seemed to be gliding through the water with ease. Yet here I was, struggling, my arms exhausted, my whole body aching, the sail taking on so much water, I couldn't hold onto it much longer. I wondered what made it so easy for the other windsurfers, using sails so much larger than mine, to jump their boards and zip right past me. They seemed almost whimsical, nimble, weightless, while I was stuck there, struggling with my tiny sail. I kept going, though. Since I started to windsurf, my philosophy has been "windsurf whenever possible". There are only so many days I can windsurf in a season and I won’t let a day go to waste.

So I hoisted my water-filled sail a little higher and continued windsurfing. Within a few minutes, the wind picked up—a lot. It overpowered me, and I had to drop the rig. I made a few more attempts but over time, the weight of the sail was finally too much to lift. I was stuck in the middle of the lake, unable to do anything but let the waves and current push me ashore downwind. My only remaining option was to put the sail on the back of my board and sit on it. My parents were watching, I felt humiliated, but there was nothing I could do; I was too exhausted. When I reached the shore, I brought my equipment upwind in what windsurfers call a "walk of shame”. I swore, I cried, I stomped my feet, so embarrassed, I was almost ready to give up windsurfing.

At that moment, two thoughts occured to me.

First, I wondered, "if the other windsurfers could do it, why couldn't I"? Aware that the average age of a windsurfer is 35, I realized that what I lacked was not talent, but experience (Veteran windsurfers say windsurfing is 50% falling down, 50% getting up). I knew then that windsurfing is not a quick, easy, or "plug-and-play" sport. It would take more than my four years of experience. All I needed to do was to come back to the lake, try again and again and eventually my skills would sharpen.

The second thought I had was, "That was fun!". The pain itself was not pleasurable, manifesting itself differently each time I’d gone windsurfing. In one incident, the mast hit my head at full speed; in another, everything flipped unexpectedly before I had time to react. I’d landed face first on my upside-down board with my groin dangerously close to a razor-sharp fin. On this day, however, the wind had repeatedly torn my sail and my body away from the board. Yet looking back, I can say truthfully that meeting these hazards head-on has helped me overcome my fear of failing, and has taught me to never give up; that no matter what happens, I should never stop windsurfing because it has helped make me the person I am today.

Understanding this about myself and realizing that, with experience, I could become a great windsurfer, I came back to the lake the next week. While I didn't instantly progress to “best windsurfer in the world” status, each weekend I returned to the lake, I did a little better, until I reached the point where I am now—a pretty good, and very persistent, windsurfer.

And now you are 'using' windsurfing to get you through college (via essay material). You are finding even more ways to derive benefit from this sport.

Yessir. My only regret is that I can't say some of the things that I'd like to say, for example, I wish I could talk about the incident where my back foot was behind the backstraps and made everything go wildly out of control, but you can only use so many words. Also, the essays have to focus more on the topic rather than the windsurfing. The first one is about how an experience has shaped you into who you are and the second is about how you have overcome a challenge through persistence.

Well, FredFX, first of all ... I wish you all the best with the college applications, and hope you get your first choice.

Your second essay struck a cord. As a kid, when I first started windsurfing, my parents would watch me from the beach as I struggled and got very frustrated. I didn't need adoration, but I sure wanted them to see me doing something neat ... and all they got was a comedy show. Fast foward a couple decades, or more, to this summer. My wife, daughter and I vacationed with my parents, and I once again windsurfed as they sat on the beach and happened to watch. When I came off the water, my father pulled me aside and said " wow, I'm impressed by your persistence. You just never gave up on that windsurfing thing, and now you just seem to fly across the water, effortlessly. Quite the tenacity to succeed"

Sounds like you've already progressed faster than me ... So good on ya. And you're right, that a never-quit attitude when you are going after something you really want is what it takes to succeed. Keep up that attitude and you'll go far!

Edit: (wait ... Was this really originally posted 4 years ago and just pulled forward by the advertiser? ... So FredFX, if you are still out there ... How are you doing on that degree?)

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